


Agates Story

by Penrose_Paradox



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5881306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penrose_Paradox/pseuds/Penrose_Paradox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The origins of a vendetta, and a better time for White Agate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Emerged

There are a lot of ways to start something, and I’m not sure how to start off her tale, presumably the beginning right? Well, I wouldn’t disagree with that, not completely anyways. Now, the reason for this paragraph you ask? (or not) Well, I’m just going to say it, the way I think things begin, is probably different than yours, and hey, a lot of what I’m about to write, will probably be different than canon any, but hey, how many fan-works aren’t these days? (there won't be much more self referencing, I promise)

So, now to get to what we’re all here for, Agate, Agate was “born” as humans would call it, long ago, long before the gem war but maybe not long for the gem-kind. Just like many others, light erupted from the cavern walls of a kindergarten, but unlike most, she was never meant to be, just like others of her class. When it happened, she saw them, others waiting for her arrival, first awe, and then shock, then horror. She looked at her hand, white, she could hear the word drumming in her head, hand. Other words drummed their beat, their sound as she looked both at herself, and others, foot, rock, sleeve, but one word was aggressive with its tune, Agate, It was violent, it shook the walls of her mind with every beat, it drew all focus away from everything else, what was this word? She couldn’t figure out where it belonged, it had no place, it had no meaning.

She bolted past the beings she saw greet her, before they could say a word, she pushed, she shoved, she kicked and, she jumped, she heard them screaming but she didn’t listen, she kept going. Agate couldn’t help but wonder, how? How did she know what a hand was, how did she know what a rock is and what a gem is, as she ran she saw many things, things she did not know what they were, she only knew what words to describe them as, but that's not what worried her; If she knew the words to describe and call her body, then who was she? What was she? Did she have a purpose? She didn’t know.

She heard many noises, ringing, shimmering, sparkling, all beautiful, but why was she so scared then? she turned to see many larger gems, some with clubs, flails, swords, and armor, all of which appeared before her very eyes. Running seemed very appropriate now.

A small shape appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, a mop of black hair covered her head, small amounts of layered armor covered her shoulders, along with her chest, and mass of cloth covered her legs, her skin, grey and, a gem located at the base of her neck, it was solid black in color. she pulled two rods, with handles more than halfway up its length, she gripped them and begun blocking her way, Agate swung at her, she didn’t expect these results. pain rocketed up Agate’s arm as the small gem mashed her weapon against her forearm, and with a quick movement she used the other to smash her jaw knocking her to the ground

Agate was in a heap, the first five minutes of her life had been insanity, she had no idea how things worked, she managed to look up and see the very gem who had knocked her down blocking the path to her from all those who had begun chasing her, her arms spread outcasting little shade over her, they were saying something, but not something she wanted to hear or understand at this moment.

“Stop! She doesn’t know anything about this! She just emerged!” the small one demanded. Agate couldn’t see her face, but she could feel how scared she was, and what was stopping those brutes in front of her seeing it? Better yet, what was stopping them from squashing her like a bug?

“So? She’s just like you! A mistake! she was never meant to be! That's all any of you will ever be, what could have been.” The brute’s words made the small gem flinch with every syllable, but she almost collapsed at the next set, “All of you deserve to be shattered, you’re not worth the resources or the time. Now, we have reason to do it,” she dropped a spiked ball, connected by a chain to a handle, splintering the ground beneath it. She didn’t even swing it yet. The small gem trembled, and started taking a few steps back.

As onyx dropped her weapons, someone stepped between her and the others, a thousand pink ringlets, a long, white, flowing dress, and a round body, taller than most of their attackers blocked the way. looks of astonishment and fear struck across the landscape as if a miracle were performed in front of them, and then undone in the same instant, who was this gem? whoever she was, she was already impressive. Agate couldn’t see her face, but she could feel the anger and disappointment, and heard it as she spoke.

“Why are you attacking these two?” her voice, cold and angry, made the group flinch, not one of them wanted to answer, but one of them managed to, “That one, the white one, she fled and attacked several other gems! and the runt was defending her.” she looked down in disappointment at her answer, as if it weren’t a valid one.

“Did anyone get hurt? Was anyone poofed? Did she even damage anything?” Each question struck them, they were unable to meet her eyes, “no, but-” she was cut off, the motherly woman held up her hand, it was a small movement but she might as well have struck her by the looks on their faces, “I will deal with this, go about your business.” and with that, they dispersed as if nothing happened.

The woman turned to them, giving a kind look to the two gems, “Are you two okay?” she asked. The small gem gave out a whimper, and began to cry, she collapsed holding herself tight, the large gem ran to her and knelt down, a worried look in her eyes. Agate got up off the ground and walked toward her, unsure what to do. 

“Shhh, Rose has you, everything will be alright, don’t worry, you’re ok.” the large gem reassured. Agate, despite standing at full height was barely taller than the kneeling gem, who now cradled the small one, it was time she spoke, “R-Rose was it? Whats, happening? I only just got here and nothing makes sense.” Rose looked at her, a reassuring smile on her face, she set the small gem on the ground, and began to speak now at full height again.

“I am rose quartz, and you got into a bit of trouble with some quartz gems, a lot of those warriors don’t like chalcedony gems, because they could have been quartz like them, you always come out smaller, and never have a clue on what you’re capable of, unlike most other gems, they look at you as what could have been, rather than what you are, you get to pick your own destiny, and that's what separates you from all others.” Agate looked at her, not knowing exactly what she meant, then asked her another question, a hard one, “Who am I?” 

Rose looked at her, then handed her a mirror, as Agate gazed into it, she answered her question. “Only you know the answer, you’ve known for the past twelve minutes!” agate stared at her face, it was long and beautiful, she had a white, oval gem with a horizontal and vertical line going down the center, long, thick, messy hair flowed down her head and back almost reaching the back of her knees. her body was fit, and she was tall, she could turn heads any day. “Agate,” She whispered, “I’m White Agate.”


	2. The Infinity Hotel

Rose Quartz, a powerful, well renowned gem, had given the two gems a long day, and saved their lives without lifting a finger so to speak, the reality is that she had to take the two in front of many different people, including a gem Agate now knows as a diamond, who was apparently one of four. She had paid little attention to what was going on, and had unknowingly helped her case, but also insulted many people in the process of staring blankly in different directions and doing absolutely nothing. That's not to say she didn’t hear a thing, since from what she understands, she is now supposed to live with the small black gem who had assaulted and saved her life at the same time, who she now knew as onyx.

Onyx, who had now stopped crying, stared at a screen with white text on it, which happened to be the same color as her, a grey casing with jet black edges surrounding the screen, read it nervously as they walked to her apartment, with many other gems going down walkways as stone structures, impossibly tall, reached for the sky seeming to never stop, Agate couldn’t help but stare at the sky, which led to her tripping over Onyx, hitting the ground and sprawling out in a heap of white limbs and snow-white hair. It didn’t help that everyone was already staring at them.

Agate got up to look at onyx in a similar heap, appearing to be blushing since her face grew a shade darker, though it was hard to tell due to her grey skin and black hair, she got to her feet quicker than agate managed, a bit too eager, practically yelling in an uneven tone, “Welcome! uhhh, this is place I stay! I mean the place I stay at! I mean we!” obviously embarrassed, she tried her best to laugh it off, though Agate didn’t notice at the time, or truly know what embarrassment was, so she just shrugged and continued following her.

The building was huge, though when they walked through the front doors, there was just a counter, a single door with an array of colors next to it, and a pointy nosed gem with a shorter, but angrier looking gem next to her, but angry didn’t describe what her face truly conveyed, absolutely livid was better, but even that didn’t do a justice. Onyx bounced nervously towards them, and quickly started speaking a million miles an hour, sending both gems into a shocked face with a hint of disgust from the pointed nose one, neither one of them understood a thing she just said until she was nearly finished, “.... and I have this thing from Yellow Diamond saying I have to and that anyone who questions it just has to deal with it.” If they weren’t both so purple, they would be white as Agate was, since the pad Onyx had presented them had indeed had a document stating more or less what Onyx had explained, on any other day the two at the desk would have screamed her head, but now all they could do was stare at the pale mass of hair standing by Onyx.

With a more than forced smile, the short one gave her welcome, her voice was a mixture of pure ferocity held back with every bit of restraint she had, extreme fear of the message before her, and forced kindness the likes of which have never been heard from her before, “W-welcome to the Infinity Hotel! Where we have infinite space for Tenants to live! HeHEhehe-heh…..” she let off and sank into a dour face and tone. Agate gave off a blank stare and looked at the two, the shorter one had a purple and green look about her body and clothes, she wore a simple outfit with a diamond in the center, and had hair softly pointing upwards, green stripes went up and down her arms, and the pointed nose gem was a single shade of purple with a more exaggerated hairstyle, similar to the gem standing next to her, with a gem centered on her forehead, and her outfit was a simple onesie with a transparent skirt, she had the same dour look on her face as the gem next to her. “Will that be all Onyx, or am I in for more surprises.” 

“No, not that I can think of, everything you needed to know was in the message.” Onyx said, with comfort in her voice for once. “You seem worse than usual, what happened fluorite?”

Suddenly a roar of energy surged through fluorite, held back by the same unknown force that kept her infinite rage held within, but now it was ignited “EVERYONE LEFT! THEY GOT PUT ONTO SOME SHIP TO GO LOOK FOR PLANETS, AND NOW ME AND MY PEARL ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO WORK HERE! I LITERALLY HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING NOW! I’VE ONLY BEEN AT THIS DESK FOR THE PAST THIRTEEN MINUTES TODAY, I HAD TO CLEAN EVERY FLOOR, DO ALL THE MAINTENANCE, AND COMPLETELY REORGANIZE THE STORAGE, WHICH TOOK THREE DAYS! HOW HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED!” she let out a series of uneven breaths and didn’t look much better because of it, Onyx stared at her with a shocked expression. “I thought you were just doing paperwork and other report stuff, I’m sorry, uhh, I’ll make sure not to make a mess… ever again… and uhhh, just stand perfectly still in my apartment.”

“And what about her, this Agate your pad mentioned, What are you going to do about her?” Fluorite asked.

“Find out what she’s capable of, and uhh, the other things the order I got told me to do?” Onyx answered.

“Fine, I’ll just let you go through now, try not to break anything, I’ve had enough problems with that recently.” but before they could step away from the desk, the single door erupted open, sending a large puff of thick black smoke into the lobby filling it with black grime, and a gem ran out cursing under their breath, and Fluorite stared in disbelief, with a smile failing to hide her indescribable fury. Onyx ran to the door and stuck her neck to a black dot amongst many other colors, and the door quickly opened up to a dark room that lacked clouds of black smoke in it and shoved Agate in before they had to be witnesses to a murder.


	4. Chapter 4

Agate was amazed, one door held a possible fire or explosion, but seemingly, through the same door was a room consisting of grey and black hues, with the occasional white, that was perfectly clean. well, perfectly was a generous word to use. there were a bunch of different knick-knacks cluttering the shelves of unlimited shapes and sizes, but they seemed somewhat organized despite the mess they seemed to be in, the floor was spotless, except for the occasional fallen souvenir, which Onyx had begun to pick up and replace, there was a large cushioned seat with another screen in front of it, which Agate had become used to seeing, it looked to be playing some sort of message to the public, a large yellow gem, with another pointed nose gem sat next to, but in a pastel yellow color scheme. Whatever was going on, it seemed like a celebration, because some “expedition” seemed like it was yielding “Successful results” but “Nothing concrete” either. everyone laughed at the word “concrete” for some reason, Agate didn’t get it.

“So what's this ‘expedition’ thing going on?” Agate said, turning towards Onyx, “It doesn’t seem all that amazing to me really.” Onyx looked a little struck by the question, but after shaking her head she began a deep breath and began “The diamonds are looking for another planet,” she said with a smile, “they want another place for gems to live, and a new place for gems to learn, where technology can be made, and where we can thrive, more than we could by making more gems here, we’re running out of space on this planet, so we’re looking for more!” she said placing another object on the endless shelves. Agate looked at the enormous gem on the screen again, and couldn’t help but feel like she was more thoughtful than her dead look said she was.

The the white mass of hair walked over to the couch and sat down on the gray seat, it was too short to sit down normally, so she ended up sitting cross-legged, waiting for whatever she was supposed to, starting to think she should have payed a little more attention to the thousand and one meetings she had to go to with Rose and Onyx. “Hey! What do we do now? I’m sure it’s something, but what is the something?” Agate asked. Onyx nearly dropped the trinket she was holding, “uuuhhh…” she said with worry, grasping at the pad while juggling the memento, “I think it was to find out what you can actually do? like powers, talents and stuff?” she set the object down, the last one on the floor, and began running her finger along the pad, “Yep, that was it, totally the right thing, mm-hmm, no worries.” she stated with confidence.

Agate gave a curious gaze, and asked “Was that actually it? you sounded a little… unsure…?” and with that, worry shot along Onyx’s face, 

“maybe!” she shouted, “It wanted results tomorrow, I don’t have results, tomorrow is like four hours from now, tomorrow is really, really soon.” she dropped the pad and began to huddle herself into a ball, with unbelievable worry. Agate could only describe her concept of time at the moment with the word “garbage” but she still tried to help and comfort her new friend, she kneeled down and began to hold Onyx much like Rose had, but this time, something else happened, thoughts swirled, began to mix, boil and evaporate all at the same time, they rained down and filled a new plain, she could feel her worry, see her memories as she did her own, and heard the very thoughts bleed their way into her at the touch of their skin.

Onyx had much the same experience, she saw the little bit of memory Agate held within her head, felt the innocent thoughts of someone new, and heard the dreams of an ambitious gem, who knew not the cruelty of their world. She sprang up out of Agate’s arms, and opened her wet eyes, looking at the blurry white gem in front of her, when she wiped the tears from her eyes, she saw Agate had her own. “What was that?” she asked with great curiosity.

Agate could barely respond, “I-I don’t-” she said, and looked down at her hands “what was that.” there was no response. Onyx looked at her, not knowing what to do, what part of her did she see, she reached out her hand, making the glove shimmer of her hand, Agate flinched and moved her hands and body away from Onyx, falling over the furniture, and curling herself into a ball.

The door suddenly opened, and fluorite walked in, “What’s going on in-” she stopped, staring at two gems, with tears in their eyes, and one in a ball, as a mass of hair. she walked up to Onyx and began whispering to her, “What's actually going on in here, this does not look like that assignment you got.” she said concerned

“I actually don’t know? I mean I think I did what I was supposed to, but I’m not sure what to do now.” she said looking at the ground.

“Well to your neighbors, it sounds like a fight, or something worse.” she said with warning. “It better not be what worse is.”

“Nononono No! she has this memory share thing, when you touch her skin, everything gets all weird, and swirlly, then you can see what they are thinking, and other stuff!” Onyx babbled. Fluorite looked angry, she started to look that way when the words “skin” and “touch” appeared in the same sentence, too close to be appropriate. Onyx realized how bad that must of sounded. “Wait! That is not what I meant! she just touched my arm when I was freaking out!”

Fluorite took a deep breath, “Alright, if that's true, then I forgive you,” Fluorite breathed out, and at the same time, Onyx gave a sigh of relief, “but I want to see it from her.” she demanded, and Onyx stopped breathing at that moment and froze. how would she convince Agate to go through that again? “Agate! Help!” She yelled. Agate looked up from behind the couch, distress in her eyes, they pleaded, but so did Onyx’s, and they now both knew how important this was to her, so she wiped the tears from her face and stood to her full height, Fluorite only reached her shoulder, and Onyx, only to her breast, Agate reached out and grabbed Fluorites hand, with one particular thought in mind.

she saw it.  
she felt it  
she remembered it  
nothing compared to it  
she saw truth  
she saw happiness  
she saw loyalty

 

but most importantly, she saw love

Why did she ever doubt it? She let go of Agate’s hand, and tackled Onyx to the ground, and began trying to lift her up, but she overestimated her strength, and got stuck with her there, Onyx put her arm under Fluorite’s legs, and back, and lifted her with ease, Fluorite pushed her ride’s hair back and leaned into her lips, closing her eyes, and after a second, so did Onyx. No one knew how much time had passed since then, whether it was a garbage sense of time, or being to busy being stuck together by the mouth, it didn’t matter, but Fluorite left the room, and got back to work as usual, but now nothing could ruin her day.

“Is every day going to be like this?” Agate said tired, her voice wavering. “If it ends like that, I hope so.” Onyx answered, her voice wavering for different reasons.


	5. Chapter 5

The days started seeming a bit… uneventful, to say the least. They didn’t mind too much actually, the several days of stress caused by the mere emergence of one gem, were finally coming to an end! Maybe, after the first report on Agate about the “Memory Share” ability she possessed, things went quiet, no response, not another task was given to them, but that didn’t mean they stopped working, Onyx knew complacency was intolerable, with an assignment like this, taking a break was a deathwish.

She decided to test her physical abilities. Onyx knew of a clearing, somehow on the expansive world, there was an empty spot, a spot where she knew she could teach her how to fight, and see how capable she really was!

It was a slow start…

she proved to be strong, but not very well coordinated, Onyx realized, that in hindsight, this should have been expected, she too lacked the skill she has now when she emerged, but this, this was embarrassing, she could barely stand without falling over something, she needed some serious re-balancing, literally. Every time she fell, onyx had to run to her to make sure her gem didn’t crack, it was, worryingly, on her forehead, and she was hitting her face a lot.

Agate had a tall, thin, muscular frame, she was bigger than most gems, being 6’ 6”, but she was not nearly as big as a quartz gem. The quartz gems were usually more than two feet taller than her, and were entirely brawn, thin would be considered an insult to them, and they could easily hurt a gem without trying. She could do great things if she could overcome her balancing problem, so Onyx persevered. 

“So, why do they want to know what I’m capable of?” Agate asked. Onyx looked struck for a second, she tend to look that way a lot after a question, sometimes just a statement. “I think they want to know where they can place you, under a diamond I mean.” she said after a second.

“what does that mean?” she continued, Onyx looked surprised, but then realized who her friend was, “Every gem works under a different court based on their abilities, most gems are predetermined, and will work for a diamond, because their skills always match that diamond. others can serve any number of different gems, so they don’t get a placement, like Ruby's, they just serve as bodyguards, and are about a thousand times more expendable than a quartz gem, since they are all identical, unlike the extreme differences quartz can have.”

“there are four courts, Yellow Diamond, Military and Weapons Development. under her, gems are produced in kindergartens, her only task that isn’t entirely military based, she also does some general science work, don’t tell anyone I said this, but a lot of gems in her court, have awful personalities. they’re horrible sometimes.” she paused, but only briefly, “Then there is Blue Diamond, her court, is mainly knowledge keeping, but a lot of gems under her rule, tend to have Psychic abilities, similar to your Memory Share, and are often covering their eyes for some reason, I don’t really know why, they just do.”  
“Then, there is White Diamond, she is an Architect, she is responsible for all the buildings, and most other things you see standing in homeworld, she even designs the inside of the ship's everyone has been taking, there wouldn’t be a lot here if it wasn’t for her!” she put her finger up to her chin, and thought for a second, then her next speech began, “Pink Diamond is interesting, to say the least, she is a bit more introverted than the other diamonds, and that's saying something, but from what I understand, she does things that are more of “Healing” abilities, and her court, is incredibly peaceful, she has an incredibly famous member, and you’ve met her, she saved our lives.” Onyx didn’t need to say her name, they both knew who she was, even someone who hasn’t existed for a month knows her; Rose Quartz, The kindest gem anyone has ever known, Agate had heard rumors in her short time, that she possessed unparalleled healing abilities, and was also incredibly talented in other areas, she lacked the aggressive nature of a Quartz, but still possessed the strength, and amongst other things, was about as smart as any gem you could name. “There is one thing about this court though, a downside,” Onyx said breaking into her thoughts.

“She isn’t very much liked, there are a lot of righteous gems from her court, a lot of them go against the flow of things, and she is often blamed for the gems ‘who don’t know their place’ here, and on other planets, but not a lot has come up, with any solid evidence saying so, except for those like Rose, who help people who get into situations like our.” she finished. “But hey, that's not what matters!” she said hurriedly, “what matters right now is this, training, who knows, we might learn more about you!” 

“Well we learned I can’t balance,” she said frustrated, “what if I’m not built for fighting, or anything, what if I’m useless.” she fell to her knees, and looked down to the rocky ground. “You’re not.” she heard, “Come on, look, you saved my relationship with Fluorite! You did so almost instinctively! You’re definitely worth something, even if it's not by homeworld’s standards.” she looked back up at onyx, who gave her a patient smile, “let's keep working at it, I wasn’t great at this either, hey, I had to learn it by watching from a distance, no one even knew I was there! but you? you’ve got a friend to help you! we’ll figure out what you can do, even if you don’t think we can, even if the whole universe thinks we can’t!” Agate smiled, “And we won’t give up, because failure isn’t something we should learn how to do.” Agate said, getting off the ground, “So what do we do now?”

“Well, we’ve been just sort of doing agility stuff, and figuring out-” Onyx stopped, “I’m an idiot.” she declared “I never went through footing and the basics with you!” she grabbed at her hair and began screaming, “I’m so stupid, aaaagghhh!” Agate didn’t know how to calm her down, and the last time she tried, she gave her a panic attack, but soon she didn’t need to, since she let go of her hair, and took a deep breath, “Okay, I’m fine, completely alright, superb, heh, superb!” she took another deep breath, and began “So, I’ve just realized that I should probably teach you how to do all the footing stuff and how to land rather than trying to get you to do it by just telling you ‘repeat after me’ since that was stupid and I’m stupid! So let's take it from the top rather than what I was doing because I’m clearly an idiot!” she said oddly enthusiastic, she ran her through a long list of how to do, and what not to do, and they were finally getting results, a fair amount of them actually.

Agate actually seemed quite adept at it after a little while, and Onyx realized, it just goes to show that it's really helpful to go through the basics before you start with the hard stuff, The white mass of hair was awkwardly holding herself up with one hand, whilst struggling with the said mass of hair in the other, all the while trying to figure out her abilities, “So, how will this help me figure out my ‘awesome powers’, this is really hard to do you know” Onyx shrugged at her “I don’t know, I figured out mine by accident, and so did a lot of other gems. So I was thinking that this might help?” Agate grew visibly frustrated, then sighed in relief, she began to realize that things take time, and she would have to take things slow, even if she didn’t want to, even if she wanted it to take ten seconds to get done, patience to her, seemed to be the key to everything, and in more ways than one, she was right.

Then it began, a light began to cast before them from her gem, a long handle began to show itself, cast from the same color as the light itself, Onyx began squealing, and as Agate opened her eyes, she freaked out, fell off of her hand, and it stopped. Suffice to say, they were both surprised. “What was that?” Agate quickly spat out as she got up.

“That was your weapon!” Onyx cheered, “You almost summoned it! That was amazing! Do you know how you did it, what were you thinking of, what were you feeling?” She was asking too many questions, a couple hundred miles to fast, Agate had a hard time keeping up, so she answered the last one she heard, “Hopeful, I guess, just knowing that things have to take time, just made me hopeful, I knew that if I rushed things, that I wouldn’t do as well as I could if I just took my time, so I just accepted that.” she shrugged, and began practicing where they had left off, lifting herself off the ground once again in an awkward way.

Onyx couldn’t help but prod, “Come on, try summoning it again! It wouldn’t hurt to try again, would it?” Agate looked at her friend, and simply replied, “Nope.” and closed her eyes again, “By the way, how is this helping me learn to fight again?” she asked. Onyx sighed, “It’s supposed to help with balancing, but seriously! Why not try again, you almost did it, and by accident too! what if you actually tried this time? you might be able to do it first try, that's rare.” Onyx gave her friend an encouraging stare, excited to see if she would do it. Agate sighed, “Fine, I’ll try.” and she began focusing on the thought of hope, the thought of patience, and the very aspects that helped her almost do it the first time, it was powerful, the feeling of hope, it felt like you could almost do anything if you just put your faith into something, and this was the reason she felt like she could do it, the handle began to show itself, and if she had a heart, it would be sounding like a drum right now, she reached her free hand out, and grabbed the handle, and yanked it outward, almost hitting Onyx with a giant scythe blade.

They both screamed, Onyx jumped back more than a couple of feet, and Agate fell off of her hand, again, and they both looked at the massive blade standing itself up in the ground, little more than an inch away from where Onyx was sitting, “Sorry!” she yelled, running up to her,and helping her off the ground, doing her best not to touch her skin, “So,” Onyx gasped, a little bit more than nervous, “A scythe, let's be careful next time, that could have shattered me.” Agate winced at the last words, “at least we know now, so what next?” she asked. 

“A break, that was scary.” Onyx replied.


	6. Chapter 6

The walk back to the apartment was almost uneventful, if it weren’t for the sworn secrecy about weapon summoning, it would have seemed normal, if it weren’t for the several guards all baring a white diamond on their chest, and a single pearl in their center. The pearl caught glance of the two and gave a pleased smile, and in a sudden stop, she turned to them and gracefully stepped towards them, “Hello, my Diamond has requested you two to visit her court, her greatness would like it to be within the next several hours, she does not want to be kept waiting, would you like an escort there?” she talked about as gracefully as she moved, while Onyx stumbled over her next words, “uh maybe? sure? wait what does she need us for, I guess it doesn’t matter but what's happening?” the pearl didn’t even bat an eye at her words, but still replied, “I have to apologize, I do not have that information, but I can assure you, it’s on good terms and you should both feel honored!” she said without tripping over her words. She was somehow intimidating despite how polite she was, she gave them a pleased smile since she found them, and it seemed no matter what they said she would not change this expression, though neither of them were willing to see what would happen if they tried.

Agate stepped forward, and for a moment, was too scared to say anything, but she managed to gain her voice again, “Th-thank you, we would love to join you and White Diamond as soon as possible, c-could we join you on your trip back, uh, please?” she gave off an awkward smile, and didn’t exactly speak with the same grace that she flawlessly managed, but she raised one eyebrow, seeming almost surprised by her performance, “That will be no trouble, thank you for your cooperation, just stand beside me and we will lead you there.” Onyx looked at both of them surprised by their graceful speech, she felt embarrassed of her own method of speaking, which she would have described it as “Winging it.”

As the now very large group moved through the city, they got careful glances and stunned stares from the others walking on the street, it took them twenty minutes to get to their first destination, a shuttle station. they barely got there before gems had started clearing a path for them, and before they knew it, they had their own private shuttle going straight to White Diamond’s court. Agate walked to the back of the shuttle and sat alone, and look at the scenery outside, it was all a blur, but she continued to stare anyways, it was calming. Onyx soon sat next to her, and gave a curious glance, “How did you learn to talk like that?” she questioned, Agate quickly looked back at her, and answered, “I just sorta winged it, it wasn’t too bad or mocking was it? I’m freaking out a little bit.” she whispered in a panic. Onyx looked back surprised, she seemed so confident before, where did that go?

“I think it was impressive, and no, I did not feel mocked, but respected.” The Pearl broke in, with windy movement, she suddenly appeared, they hadn’t noticed her presence before she had spoken, “Heh-heh, You’re not like Fluorite’s Pearl, you’re very outspoken!” Onyx laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head, The Pearl turned towards Agate, “We will arrive very shortly White Agate.” she turned away, coldly ignoring Onyx. She definitely is differen, Onyx thought to herself. “Tch, rude.” Agate muttered. Onyx flinched, “Did you really just say that! She’s in the same room with us!” Onyx said, barely whispering, she glance back at the Pearl, she didn’t seem to notice, but then again, they didn’t notice her much either.  
“You can’t just treat people that way, treating them like they’re not there, even if you didn’t like what they said.” She whispered back. Onyx looked down, “Sometimes that's the best way to deal with things, especially if it's rude, it avoids conflict and argument, look at her,” she said, Agate looked back towards her, she had her hands clasped together, she gave the same calm smile and stare she usually did, she looked happy, and content, though, Agate, she learned through two gems, that not everything is alright, even if they seem that way. She sighed, and looked back through the window, dourly. “I’m sorry.” She said, “To both of you.” She heard someone almost jump, she looked back at the Pearl, she had been visibly affected by the comment, she regained her composure, but Agate could see she had teared up a bit, before she wiped her face. The guards try to seem like they didn’t notice what she said, but it was a little to hard considering you’d have to be deaf not to.

A few moments later, in utter silence, the shuttle slowed to an eventual stop, when they got out, everything around them was completely white, more than blinding, Agate would have fallen flat on her face for the umpteenth time if it weren’t for the training she had, everyone else besides Onyx got out as if there wasn’t a blinding light surrounding them. “Be careful,” the two heard, “It wouldn’t be the first time someone had a gem crack from falling over in here.” Agate felt a brief hand touch her back, and then her neck, for a moment, she had a brief glance of another gem’s life, “Welcome to the guard, Ave-” then it ended, but as soon as it stopped, she felt a massive weight hit her in the back of the head, she couldn’t keep herself from hitting the ground, but she stopped her head from meeting with it.

she heard others starting to say somethings, hands went under her arms, and she was up again, she looked over, and saw one of the guards restrained by the others, it wasn’t long before she was dragged off, “What's going to happen to her?” Agate asked, the Pearl looked at her with a frown, “She will probably be questioned about why she just attacked you, and if they don’t like her answer,” She stopped, and began looking down,she closed her eyes, “They’ll shatter her, she just attacked an invited guest of white diamond.” Agate looked over to the direction she was just taken, she knew if she was shattered, it would be her fault.

“Please let's hurry, we shouldn’t keep our diamond waiting.” The Pearl said, Agate reached over, but then stopped, “But I know why she attacked me!” Everyone stopped, and looked over at Agate, Onyx was the only one who didn’t, “You- what?” one of the guards answered, “Why?” Agate clutched her body, “I-it’s hard to explain.” her confidence shattered, she didn’t like the weight she felt on her, nor did she like the stares going through her, they almost hurt. “let’s just go, we can settle this-” She stopped, and gave a sad look, “Please, let's-let's, just go, it will solve itself.” She walked off, and everyone began to follow, but not in the same mood as before, the proud mood had gone grey, the day had as well. Onyx walked up to her, and got as close as comfort would allow, “Agate, Try to get a hold of yourself, trust me, you have to be strong, please, for your sake.” She whispered, Agate tried, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen, so she tried to manage as much as she could, “uhh, better, you look better.” She said.

they came to a set of massive doors, there were handles high above. and far below, it took the guards great effort to open them, and upon being opened, it led to a round, featureless room, they stepped inside, and then the room began to move upward, and at an extremely fast pace, they began to see a large window, and they could see the stars as they rose high above the city. they stopped, it became extremely quiet, and the doors opened up by themselves, without the effort of the guards, the room’s walls and ceiling, was just a glass dome, where space could be seen, the Hostess herself sat at a large desk, with innumerable screens surrounding her.

Their hostess was enormous in size, her hair was in multiple upright spikes, and a diamond was firmly placed on the center of her forehead, on her body, she wore shoulder plates, and besides the long dress extending from her waist, she didn’t look especially different from other gems, though no one was willing to say otherwise. The extravagant gem peered over to her guests, and gave a pleased smile, she sat up slowly, causing the screens to flicker and disappear, and took two massive, elegant steps over to them, meeting the group halfway, she gave the guards a different gaze before speaking, “The job is done, you may leave.” when she spoke, it sounded more like a command than an option, the Diamond was beyond threatening, “Pearl, have you gone through proper etiquette with them?” The pearl did not flinch, nor falter in her response, “No my Diamond, if you that is your wish, I will do it.” The Diamond in her elegant whites, looked down at her servant, and took her suggestion, “Yes, that will do, I’m glad you’ve become so… accustomed, to your job.” every time she spoke, it seemed almost as if she wasn’t there, her pearl began to speak to them, in a proud way, “ Etiquette is quite simple, always refer to a Diamond as ‘My Diamond’ and never by name, and when greeting a Diamond, put your arms like this,” she stopped and put her elbows together, then touched her fingertips, bending her hands at the wrists, making a diamond shape, “after this, greet them with your name, and end all statements, questions, and any other sentence, with My Diamond, That is all.” The Pearl turned away, and stood there, perfectly still.

Agate took a brave step forward, and made the Diamond symbol, as she was instructed, “My Diamond, uh, If I may, I’d like a question, please?” She finished, and looked at the ground in front of her, “You already have the hang of it! I will grant you your question, and please, ask me more if you wish, someone with your potential deserves them.” The leader of many answered, this time, more genuine than previously, “I- or what, do you want from me, I'm sorry, I just don’t understand much of this.” Agate said, still looking away. the massive Diamond stared down at her, her expression unwavering, “I believe you have potential, or so I’ve been told by one of my... fellow leaders,” She answered, the last words leaving a bad taste in her mouth, “and by that, I’ve been told you can help me, in ways few can.” she smiled, a bit more than she did before, “What does that mean, I believe you’ll ask? Well, let's just say I might have a job for you, if you can meet my standards that is.” she let out a low chuckle, “Follow me White Agate, only you.” She began to take steps towards a small blue pad, and stepped on it, Agate followed, in a brief hesitant moment, she looked back at Onyx, and continued forward.

After stepping on the pad, a bright light shimmered, and they appeared in a large room, with a single desk and chair inside of it, besides for these objects, the room was black, “This room, is where I perform my favored business, this is the room, where I build Homeworld, the most important room to all gem kind.” White Diamond stated, “You see, I’m not just the architect of homeworld, I’m responsible for other technologies, and all practical things such as that! The other Diamonds, Like yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and Pink Diamond, all rely on what I make, Yellow Diamond, more than the rest.” She said with scorn, “At least the other two can appreciate what I do for them, and at least Blue Diamond is willing to cooperate so much more than them, I hate that I have to rely on the others to help run this world, but that is not what we are concerned with, what we are concerned with, is what you are capable of.” she finished, smiling at her, “What this prized possession of mine is, is where I design all of my work, all of what you’ve seen before your life as of yet, now you, you will design something, and if blue Diamond is right, you will be of great service to me, a prize, a champion!” She took a couple steps towards the desk, and waited for Agates short steps to catch up, the Diamond picked up a pen like object, big enough for Agate to hold, and dropped it in her palms like it was a pebble in her fingertips, since it might as well been.

She began to teach her how to work it, simple dashes could be made to draw a picture, but also make three dimensional objects as well, it didn’t take long for her to get the hang of it, she began to leave, but before Agate could follow, she was told a simple set of instructions, “Design for me, three new buildings, impress me, I expect good things from you White Agate, please, do not disappoint me.” she could hear genuine emotion in her voice, she really did believe what she had been told about her, she really thought she could help her, so she began her vigorous work, it wasn’t hard, she felt inspired. She heard the warp pad activate as she began her work, White Diamond had just left, and now she was truly alone, but maybe that was for the best. Agate started to picture the image, and began to draw it, she looked through the other files on the machine, and saw how they had exact measurements, and began to figure it out herself, the first design she made, was a spire, as tall as the sky itself, she then designed and arena, it was simple, but to her, that's all it needed to be, the last one, a temple, stretching across a plane, as far as the eye could see. She had extra time, so she designed a single person ship, one built for speed, and accurate flying across the sky, and space. She was proud of her ship, but she wasn’t sure she would ever get to see it, it was just a dream right now, one that might just haunt her.

She was almost finished, when the warp pad sounded, signaling that someone was there, but she continued, paying no mind to the new arrival, she heard a giant step, that could only be a diamond’s, and continued sketching her masterpiece, in just a little bit, she would be finished. White Diamond was beside her now, seemingly interested in her current work. “Now, that's not what I asked for, but nevertheless, I am impressed, But what else have you done?” Agate Realized this was not what she was supposed to be working on, and Immediately flipped to her other designs she made, she saw a pleased glance from White Diamond, “Hmmm, Impressive, not many gems have this talent or skill, you might just be of use to me.” She affirmed, “Well I’ll let you go back with your caretaker, I have much to discuss.” She gestured Agate over, and she followed her out, they walked along to the warp pad, and as soon as they crossed over, she walked over to Onyx, and they were escorted out, they didn’t talk much, they were too exhausted to really do anything.


End file.
